Sales Force Automation (SFA) in a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Industry: New Zealand Dairy Products Bangladesh Ltd (NZDPBL)

Abstract

This study has conducted on sales automation of the day-to-day activity taken by distinct departments such as Sales, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Accounts and Distributors/Dealers involved in selling Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) of an organization. Sales Force refers to the field level Sales Representatives (SRs) and their supervisors. Sales Force Automation (SFA) is a system used by the sales force to facilitate the flow of information from the end customer to the company. Most of the SRs has identified that SFA has increased efficiency by saving time to take order per outlet, providing knowledge and accurate calculation on promotions, providing stock position and preparation of order summery. Supervisors also perceived the efficiency to prepare sales summary and monitor performance. SFA enables SRs to be smart with devices and get customer insights on-the- go. Change management is the main hurdle to overcome for successful implementation of SFA. Specially, SRs with age level 40 and above are less prone to accept change, because they have developed their own style of work. SFA has become a single point information source for the organization to accumulate reliable information on sales, inventory and collection.